Fledgling Writers Camp at DMS?

Public Relations
#1

Hi all! Here’s a left-fielder to chew on.

I know we have been looking at ways to increase both membership and revenue for DMS, and there is an upcoming event that I think might pair well with the space. The Fledgling Writers Camp ran for the first time last year, and they are looking to move to a more suitable space for the sequel.

This is a five-hour event for adult writers of fiction (any genre), featuring five short presentations on different topics on the craft and business of writing. Anyone is welcome to attend; last year the tickets were about $35, and attracted about 30 attendees.

The Fledgling founder attended one of my classes at DMS last year, and seems keen to bring the event here (on August 24th, a Saturday). This would tie up one of the larger rooms for about six hours in total (I was thinking the Lecture Hall or its new equivalent in 102, probably from 9:30AM to 3:30PM), which I realize is a chunk. But I think we could make it a benefit for the 'space by giving a portion of each ticket sold (maybe $10?) to DMS. And I am happy to host, supervise, and make sure everyone signs waivers, etc. on their way in.

Anyway, it all looks great with my rose-colored glasses on, but since it’s longer and pricier than most of our in-house events, I thought I would suggest it here first before trying to book it on the calendar. If this is something that seems workable, please let me know - I was planning to meet the Fledgling director on Monday at noon, and am happy to set that up to happen at DMS if anyone is available and interested in visiting then.

8 Likes
#2

I don’t see any reason why this wouldn’t be an appropriate use, especially if some money were donated to DMS. In fact, not that my opinion matters, but it’s making-related and it sounds like a good idea to me.

Lots of people, including loosely-sponsored external groups, tie up classrooms for an entire afternoon … Most of them don’t even consider making a donation. (We clearly don’t want to rent space to them, but a donation is another matter).

You might want also want to see if you can convince a couple tour guides to pop in and give a custom tour of the Space for the attendees.

5 Likes
#3

@Team_PR @Board_of_Directors

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#4

I’d be for it.

Absolutely!

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#5

Tex,

This seems completely up our alley. What support do you need in the short term? Are you familiar with Event Calendar and submitting events to it?

3 Likes
#6

This sounds very doable, especially with the 2 months notice to promote it. Let us know how we can help. As Marshall noted, our first step would be adding it to the calendar.

2 Likes
#7

@tex_maam would authors of interactive fiction and/or cyber/futurepunk count?

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#8

Hooray! Thanks, y’all - I met with her today and showed her these lovely responses here, and now we are both properly pumped!

She’s got some things she needs to finalize before we do anything else, but I will coordinate with her and get it on the calendar ASAP. More specifically:

@mblatz @anonymous_bosh - thank you so much for offering to help us out! I’m happy to set up the calendar event (I have done those before, though not with a cost / Eventbrite link). I guess all we need at the moment is a go-to person or two that I can message when questions inevitably come up. I think this will be a pretty easy low-maintenance event without too many moving parts, but will feel much better for having a fairly consistent point of contact within DMS’s committee structure.

@denzuko - absolutely! We’ll have a list of topics up before registration opens, so you can see what will be offered and see how much it overlaps with your projects. I don’t think there would be anything specific to those forms, but usually these events feature subjects (such as “self-editing”, “paths to publication”, “story structure and pacing”, etc.) that export pretty nicely across a variety of genres and forms.

4 Likes
#9

I am definitely interested in this. Is there a mailing list or way to be notified when this will be hosted? Even if it isn’t done at DMS.

#10

You bet! I’ve submitted it to the DMS calendar and hopefully it will pop up soon - will be happy to ping you when it goes live!

(And @Team_Calendar, please let me know if there is any problem with the submission - I have not hosted many events at DMS before, and am happy to make changes to the proposal as needed!)

#11

https://calendar.dallasmakerspace.org/events/view/13444

2 Likes
#12

I was able to complete the registration so it looks like it is all up and working.